Thai Union group calls labor abuse in seafood industry 'unacceptable'

[webfact]

Thai Union Group Calls Labor Abuse in Seafood Industry 'Unacceptable'
BY JACOB MASLOW

BANGKOK: -- Thai Union Group Plc, the largest maker of canned tuna, stated on Monday that the claims of abuse in the seafood industry are simply “unacceptable.”

The company statement came after a report from The Associated Press that claimed shrimp processing plants in Thailand were using forced child labor. One of the accused plants is reportedly a supplier of one of Thai Union’s subsidiaries.

Greenpeace has also called on the Thai seafood sector and Thai Union Group to take action and resolve the issue.

Okeanus, the group’s subsidiary in question, has severed its ties with the suspected supplier and has made the decision to stop using external shrimp processing plants.

Thai Union, whose buyers include Costco and Wal-Mart, stated that they will begin using in-house processing operations starting January 1. Thai Union will offer jobs to one thousand of the workers at these external plants.

Full story: http://ethailand.com/business-news/thai-union-group-calls-labor-abuse-in-seafood-industry-unacceptable/741/

-- eThailand 2015-12-15

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Panic mode after beeing exposed?

[aussiesteve63]

Aldi,Coles and Woolworths supermarkets in Australia have also admitted sourcing products from child labour factory's in Thailand

[alfalfa19]

I guess it's not fashionable for some reason right now, to kidnap and enslave people in the fishing industry.

[chrisrazz]

Sh1t hitting fan mode. This is news around the globe, people with conscience are boycotting Thai seafood products, it's only a matter of time and EVERYTHING Thai will be tainted with doubts about provenance. Time to round up and arrest all the illegal foreign workers, it's obviously their fault as only greedy and opportunist foreigners would allow themselves to fall into the hands of evil Thai slave traders.

[Prbkk]

Sh1t hitting fan mode.

Possibly literally in the scrombroid poisoning cases in Sydney and elsewhere

[Katipo]

Like Thai Union never knew

[jalansanitwong]

Indebted servitude is the politically correct term for ...slavery. Its been going on for years and nobody is aware of this more than Washington.They did a comprehensive report on the Thai seafood industry some years back. Nothing happened.

The American seafood importers all say they're appalled or its collectively appalling or they abhor slavery !....They're appalled. !

USA imports of Thai shrimp are booming expecially in the ...'as much as you can eat for $10' buffet sector. Thai shrimp is quite bland but Americans dont notice it probably because the cooks marinate it or theyre too busy stuffing their gobs with cheap food.

Australian companies have been sprung but they can always source far better quality wild prawns locally albeit more expensive.Not much of a big deal. If the USA bans Thai shrimp and fishes that will stuff the Thais . Wont happen ?

[ChrisY1]

Politically correct posturing from the Thai Union Group all of a sudden........now walk the walk.........if it's going to cost them money, my guess is that this posturing is just talk.......

TU have been involved, as have many other companies throughout Asia, been using forced labour for so long, it's part of their systems....IMO, change is nigh impossible!

[arrowsdawdle]

Panic mode after beeing exposed?

Sure about that? The OP says the 'claims' are unacceptable, not child labor. This looks more like disinformation to clutter the issue under the guise of 'doing something.'

[Toknarok]

Here's the ABC article about Australian supermarkets selling Thai 'slave labour' seafood. http://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/woolies-coles-aldi-caught-up-in-child

[pegman]

Like Thai Union never knew

Like Costco, Walmart & the rest didn't know. But no charges and jail time for executives or employers. All phony posturing. Same goes for illegals you hear about in the States. Jail the people hiring them it stops overnight.

[pegman]

Indebted servitude is the politically correct term for ...slavery. Its been going on for years and nobody is aware of this more than Washington.They did a comprehensive report on the Thai seafood industry some years back. Nothing happened.

The American seafood importers all say they're appalled or its collectively appalling or they abhor slavery !....They're appalled. !

USA imports of Thai shrimp are booming expecially in the ...'as much as you can eat for $10' buffet sector. Thai shrimp is quite bland but Americans dont notice it probably because the cooks marinate it or theyre too busy stuffing their gobs with cheap food.

Australian companies have been sprung but they can always source far better quality wild prawns locally albeit more expensive.Not much of a big deal. If the USA bans Thai shrimp and fishes that will stuff the Thais . Wont happen ?

China will buy it all and more, no problem.

[Nobb]

Never give up you Union Group because this is the only way a true workers can get and keep his job. Still not perfect because Thai Unions are leaded by the Mafia just like in America. Pay 10 percent of your earnings to them and they might protect you!

[onetime]

Indebted servitude is the politically correct term for ...slavery. Its been going on for years and nobody is aware of this more than Washington.They did a comprehensive report on the Thai seafood industry some years back. Nothing happened.

The American seafood importers all say they're appalled or its collectively appalling or they abhor slavery !....They're appalled. !

USA imports of Thai shrimp are booming expecially in the ...'as much as you can eat for $10' buffet sector. Thai shrimp is quite bland but Americans dont notice it probably because the cooks marinate it or theyre too busy stuffing their gobs with cheap food.

Australian companies have been sprung but they can always source far better quality wild prawns locally albeit more expensive.Not much of a big deal. If the USA bans Thai shrimp and fishes that will stuff the Thais . Wont happen ?

You have a serious hard-on for the US, judging from your posts. Maybe you shouldn't have been taught the English language.

Are the black people who sold slaves in yesteryear, any less culpable than the people who knowingly bought them? When the end consumer realizes that their eating slave caught fish, the parties over. The slave owners are really the guilty ones, because they are the ones who knew. Let's see if you put all of this together and make the correlations.

[TheCruncher]

Never give up you Union Group because this is the only way a true workers can get and keep his job. Still not perfect because Thai Unions are leaded by the Mafia just like in America. Pay 10 percent of your earnings to them and they might protect you!

Thai Union is a company, not a workers union.

[stickylies]

I guess it's not fashionable for some reason right now, to kidnap and enslave people in the fishing industry.

True. End of year. Christian values. Santa. Next year same same but different. ?

[TheCruncher]

Indebted servitude is the politically correct term for ...slavery. Its been going on for years and nobody is aware of this more than Washington.They did a comprehensive report on the Thai seafood industry some years back. Nothing happened.

The American seafood importers all say they're appalled or its collectively appalling or they abhor slavery !....They're appalled. !

USA imports of Thai shrimp are booming expecially in the ...'as much as you can eat for $10' buffet sector. Thai shrimp is quite bland but Americans dont notice it probably because the cooks marinate it or theyre too busy stuffing their gobs with cheap food.

Australian companies have been sprung but they can always source far better quality wild prawns locally albeit more expensive.Not much of a big deal. If the USA bans Thai shrimp and fishes that will stuff the Thais . Wont happen ?

You have a serious hard-on for the US, judging from your posts. Maybe you shouldn't have been taught the English language.

Are the black people who sold slaves in yesteryear, any less culpable than the people who knowingly bought them? When the end consumer realizes that their eating slave caught fish, the parties over. The slave owners are really the guilty ones, because they are the ones who knew. Let's see if you put all of this together and make the correlations.

I don't think the end consumer gives a flying fag about who caught the fish he's eating, only thing he is concerned about is that he get it at a good price, and which will be a thing of the past after all those NGO's have had their say.

Noticed already how much the seafood in Thailand has increased in price in the last 6 months?

[onetime]

Indebted servitude is the politically correct term for ...slavery. Its been going on for years and nobody is aware of this more than Washington.They did a comprehensive report on the Thai seafood industry some years back. Nothing happened.

The American seafood importers all say they're appalled or its collectively appalling or they abhor slavery !....They're appalled. !

USA imports of Thai shrimp are booming expecially in the ...'as much as you can eat for $10' buffet sector. Thai shrimp is quite bland but Americans dont notice it probably because the cooks marinate it or theyre too busy stuffing their gobs with cheap food.

Australian companies have been sprung but they can always source far better quality wild prawns locally albeit more expensive.Not much of a big deal. If the USA bans Thai shrimp and fishes that will stuff the Thais . Wont happen ?

Edited December 15, 2015 by onetime

[Stan7444]

Like Thai Union never knew

Of course Thai Union knew about this since in this article from the AP cited an employee of TU visited at least one of these slave shrimp camps on a "daily" basis seeing all of these desperate people who were whipped, chained, and babies left to die without medical treatment "on the wet floors of the shrimp peeling area.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ap-global-supermarkets-selling-shrimp-peeled-slaves-111008690.html

Hope that TV and other news media in Thailand pick up this article and REPUBLISH it.

[soalbundy]

unacceptable that it was exposed. Defamation case coming up?

[alfalfa19]

This is actually getting a lot of exposure. Even the local news here in San Diego carried a big article. Perhaps the tide is changing, hopefully not temporarily.